PH coronavirus watch: Suspected cases per region, as of February 20, 2020

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is ramping up its probe of people with symptoms of respiratory illness, in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

As of Thursday, February 20, the Department of Health (DOH) said it has probed 556 patients. There is still no recorded case of local transmission in the country.

Out of this number:

• 133 – admitted in hospitals
• 420 – discharged from hospitals
• 3 – confirmed cases

Of the 3 confirmed cases in the Philippines, one died due to severe pneumonia because of COVID-19, the name of the disease caused by the new virus, while the other two have since recovered and are already out of the hospital.

Below is the latest breakdown of persons under investigation per region. All numbers are from the DOH’s nCov tracker.

There are at least 45 Filipinos confirmed to have the virus, but all are based outside the Philippines, including one in the United Arab Emirates and 44 who were aboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan. One of those on the cruise ship has recovered.

The World Health Organization has already declared the outbreak an international emergency, warning that the novel coronavirus poses a “very grave threat.”

So far, the virus has killed more than 2,118 and infected over 74,000 people in China. Cases have been recorded in more than two dozen countries. – Rappler.com